Monday, June 9, 2014

PASABAG VALLEY, FAIRY CHIMNEYS,AND UNDERGROUND CITY.

I've
had no signal since Friday, and my Turkey experience is coming to a
close. Unique topography called fairy chimneys decorates the Pasabag
Valley.
A photo to show you their size. How strange, that this formation stands almost alone.
Mushrooms
come more to mind. Some fairy chimneys were made into rooms, and
houses, barns and stables, hundreds of years ago. Now this one serves as
a modern office.
As we hike the terrain changes. We find ourselves in the same valley we flew over in a balloon earlier in the day.

.
We enter a natural cave.
Usla demonstrates by climbing up a the steep back wall of the cave where some unknown hand has carved foot holes in the rock.
Owen
gives it a try and realizes it is easier to climb up then down. His
butt turned white from sliding on the chalky surface of this kind of
stone.
We
hike farther and now you can see the "rose garden" we were
photographing from the balloon ride. The area looks less dramatic then
it did from the balloon.
Higher, we climb.
It is a gentle climb, and fun, too.
Owen tops a crest and behind him...
...you
can see the rim of the volcano that formed this valley. And, the
obvious topography we flew over in our balloon. You can double-click,
once, then again for a better view of the valley.
We
press on and find a series of houses, some with ordinary doors and
windows. A gentleman drives his car near us and we watch as he makes the
long hike to his doorway with an armload of what appeared to be
groceries.
It is difficult to reach this cave house, if anyone lives in it.
It began to rain and we took shelter in this cafe and gift shop under the umbrellas.
The shower lasted only a few minutes and we didn't stay for tea.
Everyone
noticed the ad mentioning viagra which lead us to ask Usla how Turkish
men and women feel about birth control and family size. He told us the
government is very interested in limiting population and encourages the
use of condoms and other forms of birth control. The people are very
responsive to that.
'
A vendor offers camel rides.
Even the camel wears a God's eye.
After
lunch, we visited the underground city. During the Hittite era, armies
swept cross Asia Minor and this underground city was built to be a very
defensible community. Some "houses" are eight stories high. I stayed
above ground, drank a fresh squeezed orange juice and caught up on my
journal. Owen visited but didn't bring his camera that day. The
passageways are narrow, often sloping but the rooms are well ventilated
by air shafts to the surface. Underground cities have cisterns and this
one has homes with enameled food storage places, next to kitchens.
Other areas serve as stables. The underground city is no longer occupied
but at one time thousands of people lived in the place.
For a slide show of our balloon trip and hike, click the picture below: